Cannoli dip

Cannoli dip
2 cups ricotta cheese
8 ounces Cream Cheese
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup mini chocolate chip

Mix together, spoon into bowl and sprinkle with min chocolate chips. Place bowl in the center of a serving plate surrounded by a variety of flavors of graham crackers sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Crash Hot Potatoes

Boil baby potatoes (I used red) until fork tender.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Drizzle olive oil on a baking sheet

Set potatoes on sheet and, using a potato masher, gently smash each potato down, rotating masher both ways (so it looks like a thick cookie).

Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt/pepper and sprinkle cut fresh herbs and garlic over each. Then top with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Georgiana Starlington - The Great Divide

Music from a promotional video for American Horror Story's third season, Coven.

Basil Pesto (from Food Network)

Basil Pesto

Ingredients
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup pine nuts
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese
Directions
Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add 1/2 cup of the oil and process until fully incorporated and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

If using immediately, add all the remaining oil and pulse until smooth. Transfer the pesto to a large serving bowl and mix in the cheese.

If freezing, transfer to an air-tight container and drizzle remaining oil over the top. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and stir in cheese.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/basil-pesto-recipe2/index.html

Blueberry microwave mug muffins

Blueberry microwave mug muffin

1/4 quick oats
1 egg
handful of blueberries
Brown sugar and/or cinnamon, to taste
T milk, if needed to add moisture

Mix in a coffee mug and microwave for 1 minute. If not finished, cook for 30 seconds more.

Sure, it's been a while, but....

Read the first few months worth of posts on this blog last night. Quite liked some of them. Might have to get back to doing this a bit more. It'd be a big help to whoever sits down to write my biography someday.

I have a blog

I haven't written on it as much lately, but it's still there. It's called "Someday I Will" (title inspired by the song) Go read some of the 1,200 posts I wrote dating back to August 2007.

It's at http://noternie.blogspot.com

If you live long enough....

You see things like a dog in the drive through at a Dunkin'...with its ear pierced. Zoom in on thw photo if you have to. It's there.

Android

Testing Blogger app for Android.

someday i will

Tough, but important to watch

Could homelessness among children in America reach 25%? It's already coming close in some areas.

"The table is tilted. The game is rigged."

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you George Carlin.

Radiohead

If you care, go beyond a Facebook status

I don't have 1000 wishes for Christmas. And I find that most others don't either. The wishes we do have are often ones of luxury, not need. So instead of posting something to Facebook or buying someone something they might not remember 10 days later, make a donation; to a hospital, to a medical research fund, to a local shelter or food pantry. Or take that sentiment and turn it into actual good by volunteering. Then post that to Facebook and challenge others to do their part.

My post on holiday greetings

I say Happy Holidays, not Merry Christmas.

Why? Because I want you to have a happy holiday season, no matter which holidays you celebrate, even if only New Year's.

To me, insisting on saying Merry Christmas no matter what others might celebrate, is akin to wishing someone a happy birthday or happy anniversary on your own birthday or anniversary because that's what "you" celebrate.

Why do people bitch about "Happy Holidays" anyway? Shouldn't they just be happy to receive good wishes from someone else?

I...gulp...respect the Steelers

There's no many teams out there that trash talk and play on the edge of the rules than the Steelers. Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Ravens are kind of 1-2 on that front. It's easy to dislike teams that talk more than they need to and often don't admit when they've simply been beaten. You'll recall the Steelers losing the AFC Championship on their home field and then having their quarterback claim that "sometimes the best team doesn't win." He only barely shut up when his team got its ass more thoroughly kicked in the next season's opening game.

But last night I found myself respecting the Steelers. Not all of them, but at least some of the folks making decisions. Why? Because they kept Hines Ward out of the game.

Ward took a shot in the area of his head and neck while trying to make a catch in the first half. He lay on the field while the telecast went to commercial. But when they returned, they showed Ward stumbling off the field with help.

On the sidelines Ward was looked at and tested by 3 or 4 doctor's or trainers who then had a conversation amongst themselves. Despite the Steelers playing a little cute and someone maybe trying to buy time by classifying it as a "neck" injury and calling his return "questionable," Ward never did return to the field.

It clearly wasn't Ward's call.

“I know who I am and how I am and how I respond to hits,’’ Ward said. “I’ve been doing it for 13 years. I’ve been hit a lot worse. I’ve had concussions.

“I mean, how many concussions does it take to cause all the problems they say they cause? Is it one or three or five? Until you give me some real stats . . . I felt like I was fine to get back in there. The doctor saw me stumbling and thought otherwise.”

Though he holds a degree from the University of Georgia in Consumer Economics, Hines Ward is clearly no doctor. I'm glad there are some more qualified folks making decisions in Pittsburgh and around the NFL.

from DOWNtown

5

Elizabeth Shue
Jennifer Anniston
Jessica Beil
Diane Lane
Halle Berry
---------------
Maura Tierney
Natalie Portman
Juliana Margulies
Natalie Coughlin
Gwenyth Paltrow
Jamie Gertz
Michelle Pfieffer
Wynonna Rider
Shania Twain

Song of the Day: New York City's Killing Me

From his new album, "God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise" which is just out, here's NH native Ray Lamontagne. Excellent album. Only nine songs, but there's isn't a bad one in the bunch.

Occasional reminder needed?

It's worth actually watching Fonzie jumping the shark on water skis every once in a while to remind you why it spawned a phrase that is symbolic of someone beginning to pick up speed on the other side of their peak.

Learn about the funding behind the Ground 0 Mosque

Any right thinking American should be OUTraged by this. Can we legally prevent a company from doing business? Because the company wrapped up in this should no longer legally be able to operate in the United States of America.

Facebook readers, watch here: http://is.gd/eB2Ok

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Parent Company Trap
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Song of the Day: Jefferson Jericho Blues

No, as a matter of fact it doesn't appear that Tom Petty will ever stop making good music.

This from his recently released album...

Song of the Day: Shine a Light

Shine a Light, by the Rolling Stones, from Exile on Main Street.

We contribute, then report, then you decide

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
News Corp. Gives Money to Republicans
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Song of the Day: Country Honk

The Rolling Stones, from Let it Bleed.

Song of the Day: Ghost of Tom Joad

Morello blows it out of the building. Reminded me of Hendrix. I'm not saying he's anywhere near as good as Hendrix, but listen to Morello's solo near the end and see if you don't understand what I'm talking about.

Oh yeah, Sprinsteen and his band play along. This is from the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary Hoo-Ha.

Dispatch from the outpost

Have you ever had ice cream that is at the same time cold and warm? Try the Apple Pie flavor at Smugglers in Dennis. The blend of apples and cinnamon fill your nose with the scent and warmth of a nice slice of warm apple pie from grandma's kitchen counter.* I had it last night in a hot fudge sunday (no whipped cream, but with nuts and a cherry).

Big kudos to Smugglers for making a REASONABLE sized hot fudge sunday; one that can be finished without feeling like Lard Ass from Stand By Me. It's obnoxious how much food is passed of as a serving these days. No wonder we're a fat, jiggling nation.

Since my first vacation here in Dennis four years ago I have been waiting to have their blueberry ice cream. I'm a big fan of blueberries and the ice cream was exquisite. But alas, it was a special that has not returned. I'm not sure it was better than the Blueberry Pie flavor regularly available at Somerset Creamery, but why quibble?

Good solid day at Mayflower Beach today. A big part of a successful day at the beach for me these days is coming home with roughly the same pale skin with which I arrived.

Think we're headed to Chapin's for dinner. Always a solid meal.

A good first full day to a lazy week, beachside.

*I can not remember, ever, a time when either of my parent's mother's made or served me apple pie from their kitchen counter. I have an aunt on my father's side who makes a great apple pie from scratch and I can only assume that she learned it from her mother, my Memere. But I do not remember eating one from my Memere, unfortunately.

~~~~~~
Someday I Will
noternie.blogspot.com

Song of the Day: The Gambler

Song of the Day: Rockin' Robin

Rockin' Robin, by Bobby Day.

You Tube fun

Watch all the way to the end. Good pay-off.